How JustAnswer Works:

Experts are full of valuable knowledge and are ready to help with any question. Credentials confirmed by a Fortune 500 verification firm.

Get a Professional Answer

Via email, text message, or notification as you wait on our site.Ask follow up questions if you need to.

100% Satisfaction Guarantee

Rate the answer you receive.

Ask Merlo Your Own Question

Merlo, Accountant

Category: Tax

Satisfied Customers: 9783

Experience: 25+ years tax consulting. Specializing in returns for US citizens living abroad

9573734

Type Your Tax Question Here...

Merlo is online now

I am currently going through the process of a divorce and in

Customer Question

I am currently going through the process of a divorce and in the course of gathering financial information have discovered that my husband was depositing large (several thousand) amounts of money in an account I knew nothing about and despite his claims that his only source of income was his job he clearly was getting money from somewhere else. All efforts to get him to reveal the source of this money have failed and he has also refused to supply bank statements for an 11 month period in 2006 - which is just before he filed for divorce . I am British and pretty much let him handle all our finances - including filing our joint tax returns for the years up to and including 2006. When I reviewed our returns for that year he only listed his income as being from the job he had but now we are in the "discovery" process I'm concerned that all these "hidden assets" will be revealed and I might somehow be liable for either back taxes or filing false tax returns. Should I contact the IRS? Help!

Both spouses are usually liable for tax owed to the IRS on a joint tax return but one spouse may be able to avoid tax liability to the IRS through the application of what has come to be known as the "innocentspouse doctrine." Under this tax doctrine, a spouse may be excused from tax liability to the IRS for tax and/or tax penalties.

The 1998 tax law broadened the definition of "Innocent Spouse Relief" so that relief from IRS tax liability is now more available for those spouses who filed tax returns jointly, yet the circumstances demonstrate that it would be unfair for the IRS to hold both spouses equally responsible for the joint tax liability. In many of these tax cases, a spouse is relieved of responsibility to the IRS for tax, interest, and tax penalties on a joint tax return. This is called innocent spouse relief.

Under the circumstances of what you have described, you should file a claim for Innocent Spouse Relief with the IRS.

I am giving you a link below to IRS Publication 971 which will give you complete details on how to file this form.

If this has been helpful please press the Accept button. Positive feedback is also appreciated.

Excellent information, very quick reply. The experts really take the time to address your questions, it is well worth the fee, for the peace of mind they can provide you with. OrvilleHesperia, California

Ask a Tax Professional

Get a Professional Answer. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.

69 Tax Professionals are Online Now

Type Your Tax Question Here...

characters left:

Disclaimer: Information in questions, answers, and other posts on this site ("Posts") comes from individual users, not JustAnswer; JustAnswer is not responsible for Posts. Posts are for general information, are not intended to substitute for informed professional advice (medical, legal, veterinary, financial, etc.), or to establish a professional-client relationship. The site and services are provided "as is" with no warranty or representations by JustAnswer regarding the qualifications of Experts. To see what credentials have been verified by a third-party service, please click on the "Verified" symbol in some Experts' profiles. JustAnswer is not intended or designed for EMERGENCY questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals.